Are you looking for info on how to write fiction and get it published? If so, go here. https://maryleemacdonaldauthor.com

If you're curious about who I am and what kinds of books I write, then head to a different website.
https://maryleemacdonald.com

I'm an award-winning author, writing coach, and caregiver advocate, although doing anything in the latter realm is taking a backseat to the writing itself.

Body Language, the most recent collection of my short fiction, allowed me to share my thoughts, both in the introduction and in the stories themselves, about the importance of human touch. The stories were fun to write and reminded me of how much pleasure I've derived from Solzhenitsyn's A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich., a book that has now lost its cover from having been read so many times. I admire how vividly he invites us into the world of the gulag and the protagonist's Herculean battles with starvation, illness, and freezing weather.

Another of my short story collections, Bonds of Love and Blood was a finalist in Foreword Reviews INDIEFAB Awards. My novel, Montpelier Tomorrow, won a Gold Medal for Drama from Readers' Favorite, and was a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Prize and for many other awards. My memoir, Surrender won a Bronze Medal from Wishing Shelf Book Awards and a Gold Medal for Memoir from the Independent Book Publishers of New England. The honor of winning the Jeanne M. Leiby Chapbook Award for The Rug Bazaar touched me deeply by Jeanne was an extraordinary writing teacher and mentor to those lucky enough to cross her path.

I'm very grateful that my work has gained this recognition, but I'm even more grateful when readers connect with me on Bluesky, Substack, or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MaryleeMacD.

Like many writers, I began to build a writing resume by publishing in literary magazines, such as American Literary Review, Bellevue Literary Review, The Chattahoochee Review, Folio, Blue Moon Literary & Art Review, Broad River Review, Folio, Four Quarters, New Delta Review, North Atlantic Review, Raven Chronicles, Reunion: The Dallas Review, River Oak Review, Ruminate, StoryQuarterly, The Briar Cliff Review, Yalobusha Review. My hope was that an agent would see one of my stories and fall in love with my work.

That didn't happen, and, of course, the world of publishing has changed so rapidly in the last ten years that no one knows what to expect, especially not for writers getting their start late in life.

Over my lifetime as a writer, many other things have changed. Readers' tastes, for one. Who knew that romance writing would take off or that fan fiction or Horror would carve out such large niches in the literary landscape? I'm intrigued by the energy and enthusiasm of writers who've seized the controls, and I'm endlessly curious about what makes readers "fall in love" with books.

I'd far rather write fiction than blog about writing fiction, but I'm finding some pluses there, too. I've made some amazing connections with readers who've found their way to my books, and I'm always excited when readers take the time to leave a review.